Angele narrowed his eyes. He turned his head around and tried to search the gate, but it was no longer there. Instead, a gray wall blocked their path.

He stepped back and leaned his back against the wall. He wanted to make sure it wasn't just an illusion.

The red-robed man was still at the frontlines. Once again, he started rubbing his ring.

"Explosion!" he shouted.

A red light dot appeared in front of him, which quickly expanded into a ball of flame. The red-robed man didn't seem to bother with the sparks, only pushing the fireball forward. It flew toward the Claw Warrior. The speed was slow from Angele's point of view. It was similar to watching someone throw an object.

When the fireball successfully caught the Claw Warrior's attention, the red-robed man quickly took out a small glass bottle from his pouch. The bottle was about the size of a finger which contained purple liquid. An explosion occurred right after the red-robed man threw the bottle to the ground.

Messi took out a silver dagger and started drawing something on the ground in a slow manner. Many complex patterns were engraved onto the handle of the dagger, but in reality, those were runes mixed with twisted lines. His granddaughter stood by the side with a helpless look, in addition to her feeling nervous.

After several seconds, Messi stood up and started mumbling. He quickly disappeared along with his granddaughter. Apart from them, the black-robed man struggled for a while before walking toward the corner of the patio.

Angele looked at the corner. There, he saw a small wooden door that had appeared out of nowhere; it was shaking. In but an instant, Angele became the only one left on the patio.

"The hell?" he knew what the others were planning. They had known Angele not being well-prepared for this, much less having an idea on how to survive such a situation. They wanted to make Angele fight the Claw Warrior first as the bait. If he died, they could then finish off the creature that would already be weakened due to Angele.

"Come with me." Angele heard someone whispering from behind.

Angele turned back and saw someone reaching out to him. There was a hand at the location Messi and his granddaughter disappeared. Based on the sleeves' appearance, it was Messi's granddaughter.

"Don't! It's none of your business!" Messi was shouting.

'She's so kind.'

Angele smiled, yet he did all but move. It was too late, as the Claw Warrior had already detected him. Moreover, according to the information given by Zero, Angele didn't think he could outrun this creature.

"HA!" Claw Warrior yelled and raised its claws. The fireball from the red robe was easily blocked and vanished in the air quickly.

The Claw Warrior swung its claws in the air several times. It left the pool and charged toward Angele, leaving a wet trail on the ground; its skin was as hard as a metal shell. The Claw Warrior was akin to heavy machinery, causing the ground to start shaking as it ran.

Angele released the bowstring and shot the arrow. He turned around and ran toward the other corner without checking if the arrow successfully hit its target. When a wooden door appeared at the corner, he was already running much faster than the black-robed man. Angele quickly took out the enchanted item he had made earlier from his pouch while escaping. He turned around and squeezed the heart-shaped item, aiming at the Claw Warrior.

A ray of green flame sprouted out of the middle of the heart and rushed toward it.

Angele clearly was doing his utmost in distracting the creature. He turned around again and disappeared after entering the door.

*DING*

The black arrow struck the Claw Warrior's forehead, yet it didn't even scratch its skin. It dropped to the ground after the momentary contact.

Against all odds, however, the green flame pulse had actually scared it. It made the Claw Warrior stop charging; it leaned toward the left, dodging the attack. Yet, this was a chance Angele had caught so he could escape.

Some of the green sparks dropped onto the Claw Warrior's skin, creating a noise that sounded like something was being barbecued. Some green smoke rose from the part of the skin that was struck, yet it did no damage.

The Claw Warrior had been provoked, but Angele had long disappeared. It roared as it tried to find the next target. The red-robed man had already escaped by entering the same door as the black-robed man. If not for him hiding well within the thick smoke, the Claw Warrior would have long detected him before he could reach the door.

Messi and his granddaughter were invisible. They stood there and watched the whole time.

"What now, Grandpa?" the girl asked, her voice shaky. They already learned that this creature's magic resistance was very high, and it almost completely resisted physical attacks. Its skin was so hard that most weapons could not even scratch it.

Messi looked at the door on his right side and then the left. Angele had chosen the left door, while the other two entered using the right door. He gritted his teeth as he hesitated.

Another Claw Warrior appeared in the pool. This time, it was a female. Its nipples were covered by two, white shells, and she didn't have any genitalia just like the male one. The female Claw Warrior's body, however, was more balanced and attractive.

"Ah!" The female Claw Warrior cried, and about seven more Claw Warriors rose from the pool. Some were males and some were females. Their skin was all covered with a golden glow.

Messi's time was running out. A female Claw Warrior had already detected their position and it stared at them.

"Move!" he shouted as he rushed toward the door to the right. They revealed themselves as they moved.

However, Messi's granddaughter was rushing toward the door to the left, the one Angele entered. Only after several seconds did they realize they were moving in opposite directions. Messi had forgotten to give clear instructions.

"Grandpa! Here! That young man asked us to follow him!" the girl yelled nervously.

"He's alone there and he knows nothing about the place! Why!"

Messi hesitated for a second. He was trying to say something else, but the Claw Warriors were charging toward them and they had to move. He waved to his granddaughter before entering the door.

The girl's eyes were completely filled with tears. She really wanted to go back, but the Claw Warriors were already fast approaching. She could only turn around quickly and enter through the door ahead of her.

*****************

Angele went across several bushes and he was still running. He arrived at an abandoned graveyard after entering through the door. There were several white gravestones on the field, each covered in weeds and bushes.

'Claw Warriors never act alone, they act in groups.' Angele learned this information from Zero's database.

'There were at least four of them. I can probably deal with two.' Angele placed the heart back into the pouch. He had brought three pouches that each contained different items.

Angele thought for a while before taking out a small ball from one of the pouches. It looked like a green egg from some creature. It was translucent and had the size of an adult's fist.

He told the girl to follow him into the door before leaving the pool. The girl had been kind to him and even tried to help him, so he decided to pay her back. Angele wasn't sure if the girl would trust a stranger, but he did whatever he could.

Angele had also checked the statuses of the black-robed man and the red-robed man using the chip before leaving. The red-robed man was a rank 2 Wizard apprentice, and he survived the first wave due to the enchanted ring on his finger. He already triggered its effect twice, so it was unlikely he could trigger it again. The black-robed had been using potions, but his Stamina was low and it didn't seem like he had any enchanted items with him. Angele doubted they could even make it out alive.

'If that girl actually listened to my advice and followed me here, I can probably learn some information about this place from her.' Angele jumped over a bush and rolled several times. He had activated Zero's scan function and started waiting.

Angele ceased advancing and quietly stayed inside the 2-meter-tall bush. He crouched down and made sure no one could see him.

The sky was gray, and the clouds had already thickened. It was probable that it was going to rain.

There were some black flies inside the bush and they were flying around Angele.

The reason why Angele chose this place was due to those black flies. According to the database, those flies were common in the plains and they weren't poisonous. The environment here was strange and Angele would rather stay in someplace he was familiar with.

Angele heard some intense footsteps after a while.

Three living beings were approaching his location. One of them sounded nervous, while the other two were completely furious. Angele lowered his body again and asked Zero to mark the targets with blue lines so he didn't have to get out of the bush to check.

Based on the shape of their bodies and their footsteps, Angele learned that the girl was being chased by two Claw Warriors.

He was about 30 meters away from the door, and it was the only path beside it. The Claw Warriors were catching up the girl as Angele had expected. Their speed, after all, was extremely fast.

The footsteps were drawing nearer and nearer. Angele lowered his head and closed his eyes, checking the information sent to him by Zero.

He placed his right hand on the dagger's handle and slowly pulled it out of the sheath. The place was silent, and the only things that echoed in the area were the footsteps. Angele calmed down and began focusing on his targets.

*Kata-kata*

The footsteps finally reached his location.

Suddenly, Angele opened his eyes and jumped out of the bush.

*CHI*

"AHHH!" a female Claw Warrior screamed.

It placed its claws on one of its eyes; blood was dripping down to the ground.

Angele held his dagger in right hand and stood there quietly. There were blue light dots flashing in front of his eyes.